Bone health for Indian seniors

Flew into Dallas from Doha where we had to transit for the next flight in five hours. Alighting from QA flight I noticed dozens of wheelchairs awaiting passengers. I wondered, whether there had been as many super seniors or senior citizens in the flight or whether I missed something. Doha/Dubai transit flights to the US almost always are full of Indian passengers. On previous occasions I have flown straight to Washington DC, Seattle and Miami. From nowhere I could recollect such a big bunch of attendants with wheel chairs waiting for passengers at the nexus of the aerobridge with the flight exit. In that small niche were cramped dozens of wheelchairs as men and women jostled up for space. I lost count after mentally picking up twenty minimum, lugging my cabin bag. It was time for immigration. Here I caught up with the wheelchairs finally for finer details. Around thirty of them, all for senior Indian citizens who had flown in probably to their children’s homes in Dallas. Texas boasts of very high number of Indian immigrants vast majority of who are IT professionals. Explains. Dallas especially is heavily populated with ethnic Indians. I am 53 myself and wondered whether I would end up in that special queue for wheelchair passengers some of who seemed as young as sixty. It was a disconcerting feeling to note that both Indian men and women, probably grandparents, had no general health and specifically knee strength to board long flights or stand waiting in serpentine immigration queues. It took us one hour. There were only two counters: one for regulars and one for wheelchairs. The third one was for American passport holders. I glanced at those who queued up in my own and noticed that there were many Caucasian women both in front of me and behind me. Quite a few of them were much older. They could have been European or British or Australian or South American/Mexican. I wouldn’t know the difference. But they were holding good. A couple of them were too old really – like in their eighties and nineties. Yet they held their forte, happily and cheerfully chatting away in French or Spanish or English or whatever. Neither can I pick up American or any other accented English. I understand only the Indian English! I could see straight away that they looked less tired from our Indian grandparents. Much older men and women from Europe/Australia or from wherever around the world could carry on not depending on wheelchair comfort. Our Indian elderly looked weakest and depleted of energy. The first onslaught could have started right with the flight food! I can understand this: from India it is more than twenty four hour flight to the US across the Atlantic or Pacific. It takes toll on the already physically unfit elderly of ours. Vegetarianism is the chief culprit behind knee damage. Most of us Indians do not want to admit to the offending truth. I run the risk as well but I cannot imagine myself touching even an egg. A couple of mothers of my son’s friends have already had knee replacement in their fifties. Many more are scheduled to go under the knife in next couple of years. Indians have inherited not only the narrowest arteries among the human race making us most vulnerable species to heart disease. We also have acquired knees and other joints with poorest strength. We have the weakest stamina that got computed into our genes after generations of shunning the red meat and limiting our food choices to vegetarianism or bare minimum meat and fish. We have the thinnest or sparse body hair. Brittle bones. Lifestyle conditions like blood pressure and diabetes are rampant among Indians mainly due to our food habits. The next almost viral complaint among us is the thyroid issue. Most of us seem to get it in our late forties or early fifties with the onset of menopause. Thyroid is a leading reason for developing other complications with our body organ functions. Is there an end to our voes. That Dallas airport scene with lines of wheelchaired Indian seniors is the reality we must face. What cannot be obtained with food nutrients can be to somewhat compensated with workouts. We can’t obviously fix our genes now. I am lagging on the physical fitness front as well. High time to return to Yoga and core strengthening and walking. I am in fact already picturing myself shortly in that wheelchair line and that scares me! No excuse for depending on wheelchair until at least you are seventy five and almost a super senior. We Indians have to rejig our daily menu to include bone strengthening minerals and add supplements to our routine if required. Quality of life is as much important. Physical independence also is quality of life that we must never compromise on. Screening for bone density must be annual and regular feature of masters checkup along with mammograms and pap smears and treadmills.